The present invention relates to power drills. More specifically, the present invention relates to a drill chuck tightener for a reversible power drill.
The usual means for tightening a drill bit in a drill chuck is a chuck key. The key mates with the drill chuck to cause an outer sleeve of the chuck to rotate in a direction opposite to the nose of the chuck, thereby tightening the bit in the nose.
Such a key for tightening a drill chuck presents numerous problems. One problem is that the key can be easily lost thereby making adequate tightening of the drill bit extremely difficult. Furthermore, using such a key is awkward. The user of the drill usually holds the drill near the chuck with one hand and tightens the chuck with the key by the other hand. Because most of the weight of the drill is in the body of the drill, the drill is easily dropped as it is being tightened thereby damaging the drill.
Use of such a key can also be painful and frustrating for a person with arthritis or poor eyesight because the key must fit precisely in the chuck. Such a key further requires a substantial amount of hand strength to tighten the chuck properly thus presenting further problems for people with bone, joint, or muscle pain in the hands, such as those suffering from arthritis.
Therefore, there is a need for a means for tightening a drill chuck which is not easily lost, does not result in a substantial risk of dropping the drill, does not require precise movement between two objects, and does not require substantial hand strength.